


brovid week

by veneerofcute



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Brovid Week, Bullying, Gen, Nightmares, Past Abuse, Trauma, brovid, only t due to language, would be g rated if not for that as a challenge to myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-11 12:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15315498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veneerofcute/pseuds/veneerofcute
Summary: Max gets adopted by David and isn't happy with having David for a dad so they come to a compromise.





	1. Playing

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to link all the prompts together, so this will be a seven chaptered fic.

It’s not often I see Max like this. He’s actually playing a game. It’s not much of a game but he’s actually playing for the sake of fun. I want to go up to him and celebrate his good behaviour but I know that would annoy him. So instead I’m watching from a distance.

A simple gameboy game has been enough to distract him from the annoyingness of his parents. I made the mistake of telling his parents exactly what I thought of them. Only unlike most mistakes that just make everyone miserable, I think I can make the best of this result. My own child: this is going to be so cool. I’m going to show him off to my family and friends and he’s going to be so much happier and then he’ll start showing an interest in all sorts of things again. Just giving him my old gameboy has helped him so much. The glorious sounds of Pokemon Red fill the car as we drive to our new home. I’m going to be a dad and Max is going to be the best child.

Max throws the machine out of the car window. I open my mouth. Max stops me before I say anything. “Keep your eyes on the road, asshole.”

Oh, yes, the road. I can talk to Max about his behaviour later.

“I know what you’re thinking by the way.”

I should ignore him and concentrate on the road but I don’t want to be a bad dad. “Oh? What would that be Max?”

“You’re thinking that you can lord it over me now. That’s not a game I’m willing to play.”

Is that what throwing the gameboy out of the window was about? “I just want to be the best dad I can.”

“Suck a dick.” Not helpful. I just need to get home. It’s not far. It’s a shame about the gameboy but that just means Max doesn’t have a gaming console anymore. I just won’t replace it when he asks for another one. It’ll be that simple.

I roll up to my house and let him look at it. A simple house with a room I used to rent out to people and will now house Max. He’s going to love having his own space and his own little room. I can’t wait to show him that he’s already getting a double bed. He’s complained about the camp beds enough that I’m sure he’ll love it. I’ll get him lots of nice things… once he’s started behaving.

I’ll let him go wherever he wants so he can see that I’m nothing like this parents. I’ll make him feel so loved in every way. What was it he said? Not to lord it over him? No problem.

I take him to his room and he looks at it, his eyes unimpressed. He shoves his backpack in his room and slams the door my face. I guess that just means he’s still Max. That’s good.

Max just needs a bit of love. I’ll go up later with something nice for him. Some nice pudding would be a good start.

When I enter the room, it’s to see Max tossing Mr Honey Nuts in the air and catching him. I say nothing as the bear glides in the air. “Seeing you play is so nice.”

“Fuck, David, aren’t you going to talk about my parents?”

“Is there something you want to hear?"

“Fuck you, David.” I’ll take that as a yes. If only I could handle this as simply as Mr Honey Nuts does. He just has to fall in the right way and Max is happy. No expectations, good or bad. It must be nice.


	2. Fighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of switching between Max and David's pov each chapter and ending in the third person if that sounds cool.

David was a fun person to fight. Sometimes I used to mess with Gwen or challenge my friends but whenever I wanted a challenge it’s David I match my wits with. He never looks like a challenge, but he is. He’s not very smart or very cunning. His physical strength though existent is rarely used and I don’t think he would have the heart to hurt me even if did something utterly devastating to him. I know this because I’ve broken things I know to be precious to him, messed with his love life and humiliated him more times than I can count. Yet, he keeps going. There is a strength to him that is unusual and a challenge. Fighting him is completely different from say fighting with my parents. With my parents, doing a task like this would be a case of ensuring I had several escape routes and consider possible weapons. With Gwen, it’s a case of having a backup plan. With Nikki, it’s a case of knowing how to distract her.

This fight though isn’t for fun. I need to prove myself. I need to show him that giving me fucking pudding isn’t enough to make everything okay. My parents just exploded and forgot we were in public and tried to beat the crap out of me. It’s not like I want to talk about that but I don’t want a fucking repeat.

Not every fight is punching, screaming and kicking. This one is more about timing and getting David where it hurts.

“Max, I got you pudding.”

I open the door and see him a bowl of pudding in his hands. I take it from him and slam the door in his face again. Pushing him away is easy. If nothing else I will succeed in that. I stuff the pudding my mouth and start to feel a bit better. The door opens just a little. David steps inside. “You can do the room however you like.”

“Okay.” I throw my pudding on the wall.

“Max, you knew what I meant.”

Oh, did I? “Fuck you, David?”

“Come on, let’s not fight.” Fuck you and your stupid smile. Fuck you and your stupid demands. I will show you what fighting is all about. I jump on David and start climbing up him and he just lets me. How far will this go? I put a finger towards his eye and almost touch it. I had better not. I clench my fists and punch him instead. He just picks me up and puts me on the bed. “Max, no.” I’m not a fucking dog. Don’t just no at me. I give him a good kick.

“Well, David?”

“Well, David what? Max, you have to tell me what your problem is if you want it fixed.”

“I hate you!” Fuck you! I already told you everything.

David sighs. He’s going to get up and leave. Then, in a few hours, I’ll be told that I should be grateful to have a roof over my head, food to eat and… “Please, just try telling me. I know you’re scared and you have every right to be.”

I get up and leave instead. Damn idiot doesn’t even know how to fight. Most I'll get from him is a 'disappointed'. What even is his deal?


	3. Good Influence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel that this day turned into a bit of a cheat still, it's becoming more brovidy now. So excited.

It’s been a week since Max came to live with me.  I thought he would calm down but he’s still constantly angry with me and I don’t know why.  Gwen says that Max might be mad for a long time so I’m just trying to keep my spirits up. I’ve not given him any more stuff.  Being generous has never done much but made me feel better towards him. If he doesn’t want a big celebration of being here I won’t force him.

If only there was a way I could let him now that he could be happy that didn’t risk making things worse.

He’s watching tv now.  I’m not sure that what he’s watching is really suitable but I’m sure he’ll be a bit calmer before I know it.

I settle down next to Max.  His body flinches as I accidentally brush against him.  His parents really messed with his head. Having a break is just what he needs.  A bit of time where he’s surrounded by softness and happiness. Once he sees how much nicer the world can be, he’ll…  No, he is much the same. I can’t ask him to change his whole personality because it reminds me of how scary his parents were.

They were awful.  I know they wouldn’t have killed him but for a second the thought crossed my mind that they would.  The weirdest thing was that Max acted just like himself. Had he been cowering or quiet, it would have felt easy.  No, he was swearing and resisting. I thought he might hit his dad even though it was clear to anyone who would win that fight.  His father was a monster of a man, all muscle, fat and frowns. I was honestly rather scared of the man. His mother wasn’t much nicer though she looked like Max might stand a chance in a fight against her.

“David?”

“Sure, you got something to tell me, Max?”

“I want to see Neil and Nikki tomorrow.”

Oh, dear.  “Max, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to check out schools tomorrow.  I did ask but their schools are just far too far away. You can’t go to school with either of them.”  Max is not taking this well. At least he isn’t destroying anything. Well, I don’t think he has many tools for destruction or much he’s willing to destroy.  Still, he stands up.

“I said I want to see Neil and Nikki tomorrow.”  He gets up and turns off the tv. “I’m sick of your stupid face and want to see their stupid faces.”

A please would be nice.  Probably not the best time to point that out.  Since even with it has to be no. “Sorry, Max but that’s just not possible.  Now, do you think you-”

“Fuck you, David.”

I ignore his terrible language and stand up.  “Max, I said-”

“Oh, so what you have said matters but what I have said doesn’t.”  No, I don’t want to be a bad influence. I don’t want to be that mass of horror.  I don’t want to be like your parents.

“I…”  I wish I could remember what you said.  “I’m sorry, Max. Please, I will listen if you just tell me.”  I think he’s wavering. His face hardens but I think that little bit of confusion was good.  Maybe I should lean into it. “Max, you know, I just want you to feel loved and listening to you is part of that.”

“Really, sounds to me like you’re more interested in talking than listening.”

Owie.  I sit back down.  “Our relationship doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Yes it does, DAD!”  Oh?

I think I know what I must do to make this right.


	4. Rivalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel ridiculous putting in video games again. This will probably be the last reference to them from me in any brovid stories I create. Still, I think it's justified in this case.

David had said that I wasn’t getting another game console yet here he is setting up a Nintendo switch he’s borrowed from a friend.  What is he up to? He’s been weirdly happy all day. I doubt it’s just that he wants to play mariokart 8 with me. I don’t know why it always comes back to video games.

I never used to play games that much.  I don’t like playing with other people.  My dad was actually a pretty big gamer. Not that David could have known this.  One time I accidentally threw up on his PlayStation and I was grounded for a month.  I couldn’t sit down for the first week of that grounding either. Again, David doesn’t know about this.  I know he doesn’t know about this. It still pisses me the fuck off though.

“I really like the penguins in the Wii version of this game and I’m hoping they’ll be here too.”

“Wouldn’t you sooner see penguins at an actual zoo?”

“Oh, if I had any choice in the matter, I’d see them in the wild.”  His eyes start shining as he imagines being around wild penguins. “Especially if it was around the time to see baby penguins!”

“If they’re wild, can they peck you to death?”  David laughs but I’m not joking. I kind of want to see him getting hurt by adorable balls of fluff that he just wants to cuddle.  It feels relatable.

David grins, starting up the game and passes me a controller.  “Out of all the ways to go, that’s not the worst.”

He has a point.  If anything this death threat was pretty mild.  “Fine then, I’ll have you frozen to the point where your fingers get frostbite then break them off in front of your eyes.”

“Then what?”

I don’t know.  Erm… “I guess I’ll burn the rest of you.”

“Yeah, but how will you involve penguins?”

“Fuck you and your penguins.  What is your point with all of this anyway?”

“Playing video games.  It’s a bit more young. A bit more siblingy.  I don’t want to make you feel like I’m your dad.”

You don’t know anything about him.  You can’t… You’re failing…

Oh.  I see.  No, I should confirm.  “Like a dad?”

“Yes.  I don’t know what your problem is but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“So what do you want to be?”

David has a little frown then his eyes brighten.  “David. A friend. I don’t know. Equals? The winner of our first race?”

“Fuck that last one.  There’s no way I’m letting you beat me.”

I don’t know if I’ll let him be my friend but if pretending to be a kid makes him happy, I’m down for that.  He starts up a race and soon we’re selecting our characters. David, of course, chooses the cutest. I won’t pick on that.  Control was always where the noob players dad had over would mess up so I pick a kart with low speed but plenty of control.  With that, we’re off. I at first fall off the road a few times but so is David so it doesn’t matter. He’s struggling too and it’s clear he has no idea what he’s doing.

I stick out my tongue and ignore his side of the screen and focus on just getting around the course.  The more he tries to beat me the more excited and silly he’ll get. The more he’ll fall off the track. Now let's see what these items can do.  Oh fuck, I can trip David up. This is going to be so much fun. I stick out my tongue and concentrate on getting around the first lap.

“You’re doing so well.”

“Not really.  I’m in fourteenth place.”

“I’m still proud.”  Even when I'm not looking at him I can tell he's smiling a dumb smile.  I can hear it in his voice.

“You’re in eighth place.”

“Well, I’ve played this a few more times.  I’m sure you’ll be beating me all the time soon.”

“I’m still not comfortable here.”

“That’s not going to make me put down the controller and let you win.”

“What the fuck, David?  I wouldn’t want to cheat like that.  I’d rather beat you in a plan where you didn’t even know you were letting me win.  Like I would go for something so…” I fall off the edge of the track in anger. “You fucking piece of shit, David.”

He pouts but I can see in his eyes that it’s fine.  It’s just like old times. We’re equals. I can’t believe he found a way to make this a little better but he did.

Still, going to beat the shit out of him next race.


	5. Hurt/Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not too happy with this one, but I never am with my attempts at cuteness. I like cuteness but I'm sadly fussy.

School will be great, I said.  You’ll love it if you give it a chance, I said.  You’ll learn so much there and have so much fun, I said.

Why did I say all that?  Why did I try to make him feel better in such a stupid way?  Just this morning, I thought that it would be awesome.  I knew it wouldn't last.  I knew he would feel down from homework, people he dislikes and so on.  I just thought that the first day would be fine.

I look at him, nursing his black eye and swollen lip.  The sight fills me with so many emotions.  Regret, sadness and frustration for a start.  Still how I feel isn't important.  I need to handle this maturely.  “Who did this to Max?”

His teacher (who I’ve not learnt the name of yet) says, “We don’t know.  He won’t say.”  I sigh.  This is very much like Max.  Too proud to ask for help and too angry not to want to get revenge himself.  This won’t be the end of this.  I settle next to him and help him with his ice pack.

“I’m not fucking talking.”  His hands are balled as he lashes out.  He leans into my hand as I grip the pack, but his body reveals his frustration.

I suppose I have to say the unfitting.  “I know you’re angry but mind your language.”

“I’m not in the mood for your shit.”

I turn to his teacher and request, “You mind giving us some privacy?”

Max fails to hide his smirk.  No, he’s not even trying. He knows that I want to be subtle.  He just knows. I look at the teacher who rolls his eyes and leaves.  He knows that I’ll let Max swear his head off the second we’re alone. I guess it’s fine.  After all, Max needs this.

Max frowns and says, “I’m not telling you who fucking hurt me.”

“I know you won’t.”

“Fucking hell, you know me too damn well.  Fine, I’m not telling you a damn thing. So what do you want?”

“To cuddle you until you feel better.”  Or maybe something more effective considering that it's you I'm helping.

“Yeah, cuddle," Max says bitterly.  Then he goes quiet and starts shaking.  I put an arm around him.  He starts again, "Maybe if you’d agreed to beat the shit out of my bully I’d tell you who this shithead was.”

I really would like to.  I can’t though.  Can I?

No, not until I hear their side of the story at least.

I reply, "I could agree to hug your bully into submission."

Max laughs.  I don't think he'll take me up on the offer, but I think it makes him feel a bit less awful.  "I'm not ready to talk about what he said, but I'm glad you're here."  I don't know what I would do if I did know what happened.  Still, if I can make anything even a little better it's enough to make me feel useful.  I may not have been much help this morning but I can help now.


	6. Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Double whammy today. I got really inspired.
> 
> For this chapter, I feel that out of all the ones this week has brought about, it is the more 'veneerofcute' like so if you like this one I'd recommend checking out my other works. I've got some maxvid and non maxvid ones and try to put out a variety of output.

Somehow I thought the first routine David would get into with me would be something irritatingly pleasant.  Him forcing me into a hug every day at the same time or some shit like that. Or maybe something stupidly bland, like fish on Wednesdays.  Instead it’s him asking ‘did you go to school today?’, to which I reply, ‘Fucking hell no’ or ‘Why the fuck are you asking that when you were the one to drop me off there’ and finally he says, “I’ll get you into a better school as soon as possible.”  I wish I could be as positive about this as David is.

The second routine we get into happens whenever I do go to school.  I don’t know why David is so desperate for me to go. Maybe that’s why he’s not so mad when I play hooky.  I don’t know how James always does it but he always finds a way to remind me of my parents and how they treated me.  Always a different way too. I don’t know why he does it. He’s a weed of a boy who cries if I punch him even the slightest.  Of course, to stop him from bullying me I’ve punished him thoroughly, beating him black and blue. He never stops though. He just gets more sneaky.  Mr Wolff says that I should just ignore him. That does fuck all though. To be frank, I don’t think Mr Wolff has realised that this is not just a case of us fighting.

There is a third routine related to the second.  The nightmares followed by David going through the nightmares with me and making all the scary things into silly things.  It’s hard to be scared when you’re laughing. I like this part. In fact, it’s lead to another routine. One where we make fun of my old parents at every opportunity.  Sometimes even making fun of people like them. People who read old books and think that that makes them appear smarter, people who like fake by fours, people who devalue children and childish things.  We’d never say anything to the idiots like them but it feels good saying this shit.

Living with David is pretty easy really.  Sure, he keeps on giving Mr Honey Nuts all the wrong voices and making him say the most awful things, but David tries.  I’m proud of him for trying so fucking hard. Sure, he’s often, no frequently the biggest moron you will ever meet but he’s always kind and gentle.

That, Mrs Cranberry, is why I want the fostering process to continue.

Nah, I can’t say that.  Way too sappy.  Stupid questionnaire.   
  



	7. Partners in Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter. Thank you for reading this. It's been a joy to write and I love writing brovid.

Max is missing Neil and Nikki so much.  If only I could set them up to meet. I’m sure they could set up all sorts of fun.  Neil would suggest something explosive or something deadly and they’d get in all sorts of trouble.  Nikki would suggest… pretty much anything really. She could be very impulsive and unpredictable. Probably something illegal.  Something like I don’t know. Theft! Senseless violence! Arson! In a way, I’m a little jealous. I’d love to do such things with Max sometimes.  I can’t though. I’m the good influence.

I can’t do that though.  They’re hundreds of miles away in opposite directions.  At least I know they’ve already applied to go to Camp Campbell again come the summer.  I think they’re planning on bringing some better supplies too. Still, that won’t get Max someone to play with.  He still hates everyone at his school and the other schools are either full or have refused to take Max for one reason or another.  So it’s down to me to cheer him up.

“Maybe we could go to the park and play frisbee.”

“Fuck no.”

“Max, I know you want to do something.  Come on, give me something to work with.”

“Maybe you could wear a few more layers and I could use you for moving target practice with my bb gun.”

Tempting but no.  “Maybe I could throw some cans for the same effect.”

He laughs.  Clearly not.  “What if we hunted down my parents and…”

“Tempting but I wouldn’t want to lose you to the social services.”

Max smirks and lies back, a little more relaxed.  “What would you do to them if you knew you could get away with it?”

There’s a hard question.  I don’t know. “Suffocate them with Mr Honey Nuts.”

First Max laughs then agrees, “Glad to see you’re becoming more morbid.  I don’t know if Mr Honey Nuts would approve.”

“I know Pinesy would so why would Mr Honey Nuts mind?  Anyway, what would you do?”

“I don’t know.  Shoot them.” So simple and thoughtless.  “Maybe beat them over the head with Pinesy.”  Pinesy would mind that.


End file.
